31 Days of Organization: Discard Things That No Longer Serve You

We’ve been talking a lot this month about how to organize the things you have, and the best ways I’ve found to store certain items. One thing we haven’t talked about is all the things that are just taking up space in your home.

What about those items that you keep trying to organize but feel frustrated with? The ones that you move from room to room, but they never quite feel right no matter where you place them? The ones that you hold on to because they were a gift, or you’ve had them since ________ (college, childhood, Nixon was in office), or you have an emotional attachment to them?

Those kinds of items add weight to our lives. Not just the physical weight of the item itself, but mental and emotional weight as well. If our homes are filled with things that we don’t truly love and or that don’t serve us in the best ways, then it adds a weight we don’t need to carry.

We have to clean these items. We have their visual presence, and we have the guilt or heaviness that is associated with their existence in our homes. Who has time for that? I know I sure don’t.

I wrote about the Konmari Method over the summer, and did a book review of it which you can read here. Marie Kondo says that if an item is no longer useful or loved, to thank it for its service and send it on its way. This frees you from the weight of the items and the burden of storing things that aren’t bringing you joy. Besides, your discards might become someone else’s treasures. That is how I scored that amazing typewriter in the above photo for a steal this summer.

Join the Email List

Subscribe to get my latest content by email, and I'll send you FIVE tips for when you feel overwhelmed: what to do when you don't know where to start on any project.